Revue d'économie et de statistique appliquée
Volume 22, Numéro 2, Pages 98-113
2025-12-09

Rethinking Longevity Gains In Algeria (1962–2023): A Demographic Decomposition From Arriaga To Andreev

Authors : Belaidi Mohamed Amine . Mimoune Narimene .

Abstract

This study decomposes the remarkable gain of nearly 30 years in Algerian life expectancy between 1962 and 2023 by contrasting two decomposition methods (Arriaga, 1984; Andreev et al., 2002) using United Nations data. Results show that while the Arriaga method attributes a dominant share of the gains (>53%) to the decline in infant mortality, the Andreev et al. method offers a more balanced perspective. It adjusts the infant contribution to a more moderate level (around 38%) and, crucially, reveals the substantial contribution from survival improvements at adult and older ages (nearly 37% of the total gain for ages 45 and over). The methodological comparison reveals that Algeria’s health transition unfolded in two distinct phases: a first, massive phase focused on child survival, followed by a second, more recent phase centered on the management of chronic diseases.

Keywords

life expectancy ; demographic decomposition ; health transition ; arriaga's method ; andreev et al.'s method